Then and Now
by TheDarknessIsInMe
Summary: (auverse, oc x ambrose, see profile/authors notes) Alexis Kelly is coping with amnesia, with the frustration of not remembering a large chunk of her life. But when Dean Ambrose, who happens to look exactly like a lover from her past (because he is) moves in the apartment beside her own in Louisiana, will she finally have the life she's spent four years wanting back? With Dean?
1. authors notes summary thing

First of all, I don't own the WWE or any of it's roster. If I did, I'd probably hide Roman and Dean in my pockets and chain Sami Callahan to my bed. Secondly, I do not profit from the stories I write, and I only do them for amusement. I only own my original character Vivienne / Alexis. For a full bio / history on her, you can refer to my user bio, there are links and everything, and the plot of this story will actually make sense if you read her character history with Dean, you'll see what I'm going for. **GO EASY ON ME. NEVER WRITTEN A WWE THING BEFORE, BUT I'VE BEEN A FAN FOR ALMOST MY WHOLE LIFE. FIGURED WHAT THE HELL, I'D WRITE A DEAN X OC ROMANCE. NO FLAMES, PLEASE?**

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**THE MIND IS A WEIRD THING, IT REALLY IS..**

Especially in the case of Alexis Kelly, formerly known as Vivienne Kelley, who was almost Vivienne Good. A car accident stole her memories, and her mother saw a chance to intervene and break up her relationship with Dean Ambrose, who was then known as Jon Moxley in the indy circuit. He was on the road, so instead of calling him, Vivienne's mother hid her, nursed her back to health and then filled her head full of lies.

Four years have passed and Vivienne (Alexis now) is living in Louisiana.. She's starting to remember things about her life before. When WWE Superstar Dean Ambrose moves into the vacant apartment beside hers, things really start to get intense. Can Dean bring it all back for her at last? Will they finally get the happy ending they were fucked out of almost 2 times now?

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(The summary actually sucks.. But I got the idea for the story while watching 50 First Dates.. This is not going to be comedic like that though.. The kind of amnesia my oc has is retrograde, so she doesn't quite remember Dean (Jon) because he was in her life at the time of her second accident, though at the time, he was on the road. no flames, please? If people seem interested, I might actually keep working on this one.)


	2. Man Of Her Dreams?

ONE

She sat up in her king sized bed, her hand knotting in her long brown hair as she looked at the clock on the nightstand with a scowl on her face. Every night for the past four years this happened, the dreams of him and then finally, the reliving the car accident that almost killed her.

"I should be used to this shit by now." Alexis grumbled as she slid out of bed, made her way down the hallway of her little 4 room apartment and into the kitchen, grabbing a bottled green tea, slicing a grapefruit in half and grabbing a spoon.

As she went through her 'can't sleep and it's too close to time for work to go back to sleep' routine, several things about the dreams before her final nightmare came back to her and she sighed as she shook her head. The doctors in Ohio, the ones her mother had her seeing when she'd been there, they all seemed to think that the dreams were nothing but a product of 'wishful thinking' or her stressed mind putting a positive spin on her life just so she could get some sleep every night.

Here, the doctors were suggesting hypnosis, and wondering why her old specialists hadn't at least suggested it. They seemed to think that maybe the dreams that came before the nightmare that was her reliving the wreck she'd been in and almost died in were the key to unlocking her lost memories, restoring them.

Early mornings like this one only made her toy with the idea that maybe the specialists here in Louisiana were right.. Maybe if she tried hypnosis, she'd remember everything. Or at least enough to give herself some clarity at long last.

She turned on her television, saw an ad for an upcoming WWE house show a few states away and watched the ad intently. "Of all the shows you get hooked into, Alexis, you get hooked into pro wrestling.. How the hell did that happen, huh?" she asked herself aloud as she sipped the green tea, ate her grapefruit and looked at the clock.

Almost 5 am. In another hour, she'd be ready to head into work, start another long and uneventful day. The only thing that got her through them anymore, were the hopes that the dreams of him every single night, were memories and that maybe it would all come back to her..

Not just the small bits and pieces she had and clung to now.

He always smelled like Axe, sweat and cigarettes. His eyes were icy blue, in fact, he looked like a dead ringer for the WWE Superstar she seemed drawn to watching, when she got the chance to actually watch a Monday night RAW, Dean Ambrose. He had this cocky grin and his hands, large and rough, felt amazing as they moved slowly over her body. Just the thought of these dreams, the thought of those hands, those lips and the way they kissed her in the dreams was more than enough to draw out a gasp as she bit her lower lip and squeezed her eyes shut, just letting her mind replay the few she'd had that night...

_She was cooking, or trying to cook. He walked into the kitchen behind her, his finger raked around the rim of the pot and he licked off pasta sauce, gave her one of those 'what? I've done nothing' smirks of his and she grumbled, swatted at his hand. He turned her around, his hands gripped her ass and he slid her up his body, into his arms as he sat her on the counter. "Whatcha cookin, sexy?" he asked as his lips found their way from her lips to her neck.._

_She was painting a room.. It had to be a nursery, she could see the crib, the stuffed animals and stuff scattered around. The paint was a pale blue. The door to the apartment opened, she smiled as she heard him walking in, calling her name. "Back here baby. In the nursery." _

"_What the hell are you doin, woman? The doctor specifically said, bed rest.. Not try and see how much shit you could do while I was workin out at the gym with the guys." he mumbled as his lips found the soft spot in her neck and his hand found the paint tray, a boyish smirk filled his face when seconds later, his hand slid to and gripped her ass firmly, leaving a light blue handprint in it's wake. He turned her around in his arms, gave her a kiss that left her breathless._

_They were lying on the sofa in this apartment she always seemed to dream of them in together, as the rain fell outside.. He swore sharply and jumped over the back of the couch, racing to the kitchen for a pot when the rain started to trickle through a leak in the ceiling. After he put the pot in place, he flopped back down behind her on the sofa, the two of them laughed for a little while and he whispered quietly, " Not always gonna be like this, Vivienne. One day, we're gonna have this fuckin huge house.. And some kinda butler or somethin fancy like that.. Just so when shit like that' he pointed up to the leak in the ceiling and continued, ' does happen, all I have to do is call a guy or somethin."_

She came out of her daze to the ringing of her phone. A scowl filled her face as her mother's voice came on her answering machine, obviously angry and irritated because she wasn't coming back to Ohio for the upcoming specialist appointment she was supposed to have. Or irritated because for the 5th time this week, Alexis wasn't just picking up the damn phone, her mother had been calling almost every morning, noon and night, and Alexis was just.. She was tired of her mother's controlling and meddling ways, she was tired of being treated like a 2 year old just because she had almost died, that she had amnesia now as a result of the accident she'd been in a few years ago..

For a few moments, Alexis toyed with picking up the phone, telling her mother that she was a grown ass woman, that she was going to pick her own doctors, handle her own treatment. Instead, she calmly finished off her grapefruit, then dressed, did her hair and makeup for the day, and got ready to leave for work at the salon she co owned with a friend, another job and thing about her life that her meddling and controlling mother didn't approve of..

Her mother, she was finding, didn't approve of much anything that she did with her own life. _If it were left up to Ruby Jean Kelly_, Alexis thought to herself with a bitter scowl, _she'd be married off to some doctor or something she couldn't stand the sight of. Just like her own mother was now. And miserable, also like her own mother was._

She paused at the hallway table on her way out the door, jotted down the names from her dreams as well as a few other key details that for once had not been vague or foggy or something. She'd stop by her new therapist's office and see what the woman made of them after work, on her way to the bar.

Little did she realize, that her memory was going to return a hell of a lot sooner than she even knew. And it was all going to be triggered by one man.

One infuriating, cocky, quick tempered man..

On her way out of the apartment, she noticed a group of 4 males trying to balance a heavy couch as they came up the stairwell of the apartment building. "Sorry, y'all." she said quickly as she stood to the side, let them past.

Her eyes met with the icy blue eyes of a grumbling and grunting Dean Ambrose and for a few seconds, they stared intently at each other.

She paled and gasped, shocked to see the man from her dreams (or memories, they could very well turn out to be memories) every single night standing in the corridor of the apartment building she lived in, obviously moving in.

He blinked and gaped, then when he almost dropped the sofa he was trying to move into his new apartment on his foot, he swore profusely and his 3 friends, Seth, Roman and Sami looked at him. Sami asked quietly, "Well? That her, Jon?"

"If that ain't her, Sam.. Then she's got a fuckin double." Dean said as he watched the curvy brunette walking down the stairs.

Why the hell had she acted scared to see him just now? Or shocked, whichever it was.

"And you're sure you wanna rent this apartment?" Seth asked as they got the door to Dean's new apartment open and he peered in, saw all the cleaning that was going to be required, grimaced to himself and turned to look at his offscreen best friend in concern. "This is a lot of trouble, man, for just a damn hunch."

"He's been looking for her for over 3 months now, Colby, every since he finally found out that her mom lied to him when he tried to find her back then. This is the closest he's gotten to finding her, man." Roman said as Sami nodded and added, " Ya sure that was Vivi though?"

"I know those curves, Callahan. I know those lips.. If that ain't her, man, I'll give you a hundred bucks. I just wanna know why the hell she didn't recognize me.." Dean mused aloud, puzzled.

He was getting a really, really strange feeling that there was way more to what he'd finally gotten out of her mother last week when he confronted her with what he did know, that there had been no other men, that for whatever reason, her mother felt the need to lie and keep them apart..

Vivienne's mother hadn't told him everything.. But how badly, he wondered, was what she hadn't told him, going to bite him in the ass by the end of this whole plan he had to fight his way back into Vivienne's life, do what he should've done back then when he had her...


	3. Not How He Expected Things To Go

**{EEEE! OMG! I HAVE A REVIEWER! I'M SO DAMN HAPPY RIGHT NOW, THANKS SAMMIE94! I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS STORY, LIKE I SAID, THE INSPIRATION ACTUALLY CAME FROM 50 FIRST DATES AND SOME WEIRD DREAM I HAD, SOME WHAT IF/DIALOGUE I HAD RATTLING AROUND IN MY MIND THAT I WANTED TO USE IN A FANFIC.}**

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TWO

"Why the hell didn't she recognize ya earlier?" Sami wondered aloud as Dean paced the apartment, punched lightly at a wall and shrugged, raked his hand through his hair and said quietly, "I dunno, man.. It's gotta be her, I mean hell.. She's got darker hair now, longer hair.. But like I said.. I know that body.. I know those lips and those eyes, man. This is where her mom said she'd be at when I practically had to twist the bitch's arm for the truth finally. Just.. I'm getting the weird feeling she ain't told me the whole truth, and if I know her mom like I remember her, she's got something up her sleeve because the woman fuckin hated me then."

"So what was she like some kind of controlling parent or something?" Roman asked as Seth studied his friend curiously with a brow raised and said quietly, "I've heard of controlling parents, man.. But a lie that big? Just to keep the two of you apart? Are you totally sure there wasn't a little truth in there somewhere?" as Dean glared at Seth for even suggesting it. He was a man possessed right now, possessed by the idea that he'd finally found out, at long last, what he'd always sort of suspected back then. There hadn't ever been another guy, Vivienne just didn't walk away one night.

It wasn't like her then.

"She was worse than a controlling parent, man.. She was the worst manipulative lying bitch.. I mean I thought my ma was a bad person, ya know? Findin all this out now.. Ya know, it's kinda weird.. My own ma saw Viv, not long after, and she told me Viv just.. She seemed off or somethin.. Like she saw her too, she waved, but she didn't say anything to her and believe me.. My girl, boys.. She's told my ma off more times than I got fingers and toes." Dean admitted as he crossed his arms and uncrossed them, paced the living space in the apartment and again, swung at a wall.

"Would you fucking stop? You're gonna break your fucking hand." Sami grumbled as he nodded and agreed with Dean, adding, "Hell.. I've seen her get good and angry with Jon and throw a shoe at his head. It's kind of an Italian or Cajun temper thing, I guess." as Dean grimaced, remembering the night he came home just a little too drunk for Vivienne's liking and he'd had to dodge at least 3 stilettos and one of his own damn sneakers.

They'd been through literal hell on Earth together.. Her mother's constant meddling, his mother's constant abuse, the strain of long distance in their relationship, the loss of a baby.. They'd made it and Dean had been at least partially convinced back then that they were damn near indestructible. Or he'd thought so right up until the day he came home from almost 3 months nonstop on the road, found their apartment empty, not even a note or anything.. hell, she hadn't even left the damn engagement ring he'd gotten her behind then, which really made him wonder..

If she had another man.. Why take the fucking thing?

He'd tried looking for her by using it at first, but every single pawn shop he'd been in looked at him as if he were nuts or something, nobody had even seen Vivienne in any of them. So he knew that wherever she went, she'd taken it with her. It was still in her possession. Which meant to him at least, she was still **his girl. **That she belonged to nobody else but him, just as she had before.

Which only increased the urgency in which he had, the sense that he had to do something, get her back soon. He felt like, for some strange reason, he was working against borrowed time.. Against some unknown hourglass that the sand was fast trickling to the bottom portion of.

Then again, he hadn't ever really been a patient kind of guy, either. And when he wanted something, he got it, usually, one way or another. Just like he was at least semi confident he was going to this time..

First though, he had to figure out why she looked so damn scared or shocked and even a little upset at seeing him this morning. Because he'd definitely been hoping that for once in his damn life, something would just sort of fall into place. Apparently, this was going to be harder than he thought.

"You're sure though, that it's her?" Roman asked finally as he paced, deep in thought. Something about the way she'd acted earlier hadn't fit with everything his best friend had told him about her, about how much they loved each other back then, hell, to be honest, something about her just walking away back then didn't sit right with the Samoan.

Sami nudged Roman and said quietly, "Something about this whole damn thing ain't fitting. Viv.. She's gotten pissed and left the room when they argued before, it always hurt her more than it did him and never took her more than five seconds to come back... Something her mom said when me and Jon went up to confront the bitch, man.."

"Yeah, I know, man.. I'm getting the same feeling.. Maybe something happened she's not telling?" Roman asked as Seth walked over and leaned in, said quietly, "We might wanna grab him. He's outside punching the side of the building and shit, again.. he keeps it up, hes gonna break his fucking hand. Anybody else got the feeling that her mom wasn't exactly totally straight with us when we went back with him last week?"

"We were just discussin that, Colby." Sami stated as Roman nodded and said "Let's go get him inside, get him sober. Maybe we can do some digging on the internet.. I have a theory, it's sort of like you said, Sami, something her mom hinted at is sort of just sitting with me.. Like she was taunting Jon with it, that no matter what he tried, she'd never be 'herself' again."

"If that's true, man, then her mom's not just a raging bitcharoonie.. She's a fucking psycho. And Jon.. If she's done something, messed with Viv somehow, man.. We're gonna have to really work our asses off to keep him restrained and keep him the hell out of Cincinatti." Sami admitted as Roman and Seth nodded in agreement.

"This is the closest he's been to okay in a while though." Roman said as Seth added, "And he's our boy.. We said we'd help him, so let's get him indoors, get him calm again, start trying to think this thing out." and the three males walked out onto the balcony of the apartment, found Dean sitting on the railing, smoking a cigarette, looking at a slightly swollen right fist.

"Her ma is hidin somethin.. Because she shoulda known that was me earlier. That shoulda went totally different, we shouldn't have been like fuckin strangers, man." Dean said as Seth took the beer, poured it out and said "Okay, buddy, come on." with Roman saying quietly, "We're gonna figure it out, okay? First, man, you need to get your ass in here and calm down.. If you get thrown out of this place before you figure out what's going on then if she really needs you, you're not gonna be able to help her."

Dean nodded and flicked the cigarette over the rail as Sami said quietly, "Look, for what it's worth.. Maybe we should ask the neighbors about her, see what they actually know. It might actually help." as Dean nodded and said quietly, " Something was off earlier."

"Yeah, I know, man.. Come inside, it's fucking freezing out here." Sami said as the five males moved to the den of the apartment, Dean flopping down on the couch, thinking, determined to figure out what the hell was going on right now. Because he knew one thing right now.. She'd never have acted the way she had to see him in the hallway earlier, not without a damn good reason..

Not when they'd been working their way back to what they had before they lost the baby, before she left back then.. So what then, was he missing?


	4. Do I Know You?

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THREE

She had to stop a block away from the apartment complex, find a bench and flop down on it. Her mind was racing, her heart was pounding, her head was almost positively spinning all of a sudden. She was getting these bursts of things, small things, almost insignificant but with shocking vivid clarity. It'd started when she saw him in the hallway, in person, not just on the other side of her television set like usual. The thing on her mind right now was not what a famous athlete was doing moving into some shitty 3 bedroom apartment next door to her own, but it was more like what about him had bought all this to the surface, in her. Sure, she'd started to have small chunks, trivial bits of her memory return at random, especially lately, since she'd started to watch professional wrestling, which the doctors said could be a huge deal, it could be a huge key to unlocking her forgotten past totally, but to have all the stuff she was currently having just bombard her mind and her senses like this.. All because of one guy.

She took a few deep breaths and steadied her hands, they were shaking a little, and she dug through her clutch purse to find her phone. When she had her phone in her hands, she called the doctor she'd chosen to see on her own, without her mother's knowledge, and explained what happened. When she'd finished, the doctor scheduled her an appointment for later in the week and she hung up, relieved. Taking a few more deep breaths, she stood and started to walk across the street to the cafe she normally grabbed a coffee from every morning and she sat down, just thought about everything that happened moments ago, when she'd seen the man known to pro wrestling as Dean Ambrose.

"The hell is it about him, I wonder.. Everything I have remembered has been when he's been on tv or something.. There was last week during that commercial for the WWE Network... Then about two weeks before that, the match he had against that guy who was with him earlier..." Alexis mused aloud as her cell phone vibrated against the table's wooden surface. She looked at the caller id, saw it was her mother, again, and instead of hitting ignore this time, she found the option to block and remove her mother from her contacts.

Maybe her doctors here were right.. Maybe the less contact she did have with her mother, the less upset the woman could make her, the faster she'd remember things again and be okay again. That's all she really wanted, at this point, was just to remember the four years or so of her life lost before the wreck. Even if there were bad things, which her mother seemed hell bent on protecting her from remembering it almost felt like at times.. She wanted to know, she wanted to deal with them, in her own way, on her own time.

* * *

In Ohio, Ruby Jean Kelley glared at the phone in her hand, swore to herself. Had Vivienne really just blocked her? What if that bum bastard lover of hers had found her already? If they were working things out.. It made the woman's stomach twist in literal knots. That boy was the sole reason her sweet baby girl rebelled at all in the first place, that bastard was the reason that her daughter left home before Ruby Jean felt she was ready to do so. "In love my ass. Guy just wanted to do what her own daddy did to me and get me all happy, get me all weak and then leave. Hell, he was barely home.. Guy didn't need or deserve my baby girl. She better not be with him or I'll have to resort to more drastic measures to get her back home where she needs to be."

She slammed the phone down on the kitchen counter and flipped through the phonebook.. Maybe it was time to call in a little legal assistance? She was curious, she wondered if she could try and declare custody of her adult daughter. If she could... "This is for your own good, Vivi.. That boy's not gonna do anything but ruin you.. Like your daddy, the bastard he was, ruined me." she mumbled to herself as she jotted down a list of lawyers numbers to call later.

She'd let her daughter alone for now, work on things quietly on this end. Something had to be done to stop the guy or he'd ruin Vivi. Like Vivi's father ruined her.

* * *

"So you finally did it, huh? You blocked your mama's number? Good job, girl. It's high time you lived your own life.. I'm a mama too and even I think your mama's just a little too involved.. Don't see me callin, botherin my girl up at LSU, do ya?" Ramona asked as she reapplied lipgloss and fixed her eyes on the younger female she co owned the salon with in the mirror. Alexis sighed, shook her head and admitted quietly, "I just.. I feel so damn guilty.. But then I keep thinkin about what the doctors keep tellin me, and I realize they're kinda right.. I'm remembering things.. Every time I talk to her, I get confused. I'm sick of being confused." Alexis admitted as she bit her lower lip, set to work setting up her styling station for the day.

"You'll never guess what's happening to me, Mona." she called out as Ramona suddenly remembered, "Some guy came by here lookin for ya. Earlier.. He was with 3 other men.. Kinda handsome.. Had one hell of a cocky grin too. Looked like that guy you're watchin on that show all the time. What's his name?" and looked at Alexis who paused, color sort of both draining and coming to her cheeks as she said quietly, "Dean Ambrose, Mona?"

"That's the one, cherie" Ramona said as she asked, "You alright?"

"I think.. I think I need to lie down.. Just for a few minutes, okay?" Alexis said as she bolted to the back of the salon, sitting down on the leather couch in the break room, curling her knees to her chin, putting her arms around them. She lifted a hand after a few moments, looked at the ring she'd just started wearing again recently, thinking maybe wearing it would spark more memories, and besides, it was too pretty not to wear and be proud of.. "Why would a WWE Superstar wanna try and find a nothin girl like me?" she wondered aloud as she squeezed her eyes shut and more small memories came easily.

She opened her eyes a few moments later and looked at the ring again. She remembered exactly how she'd gotten it just then.. And she'd gotten a clearer view of the man she dreamt of or remembered every single night than she normally did in the dreams/memories..

Or was her running into a man she could admit a huge physical attraction to, when she watched his matches on television, clouding her judgement, making her think things that weren't true, making her think they had some sort of connection? She gripped at her hair and groaned, frustrated. She hated this, the confusion, the doubt.

When she finally came back to the front, she found Ramona standing there, waiting, talking to Dean Ambrose.

"Actually, ma'am.." Dean said, finishing their conversation as he flashed a smirk at Vivienne, who looked confused, pale, a little more than freaked out at seeing him standing there at the moment, "I think I wanna get her to give me my massage? She can do 'em, right?"

Ramona looked from the famous pro wrestler who currently stood in her salon to Alexis and then back again. She definitely got the feeling that this guy knew Alexis from somewhere or something, it was on the tip of her tongue to ask, but the electricity in the air, the tension between them.. She nodded and said to Alexis casually on her way out, "I'll be in the back, cherie, if you need anything."

Alexis nodded, bit her lower lip as she took a few deep breaths, shoved her shaking hands into her pockets and said quietly, "Right this way... Umm, Mr. Ambrose, right?" she asked, wondering why the name felt fake, felt awkward on her lips..

Dean stared at her, confused a moment.. Did she not know who the fuck he was? This was.. He'd thought it was an act earlier, just so she wouldn't have to deal with him.. Standing here now, sober, looking at her.. Something was definitely wrong.. Because no matter what.. She'd have to remember him if it was her.. Wouldn't she?

His eyes happened to dart to her hand, he saw the ring he'd spent so much time trying to use to find her at the beginning sitting on her finger. He let out a low whistle and said with a teasing and slightly bitter gleam in his eye, "Hell of a rock. Guy's fucking lucky. Make sure he knows that, huh?"

"There's umm.. There is no guy, actually.. I found the ring in my jewelry box.." Alexis admitted quietly, which really made Dean raise a brow as he peeled off his t shirt, flopped down onto the massage table. He heard her gasp and asked, "You okay? My back doesn't look that bad, damn." jokingly for the most part. Alexis stood gaping at a scar that trailed along his shoulder. She bit her lower lip, raked her hands through her hair and reminded herself mentally, _"Just because he has the exact same fucking scar as the man in the memories, Alexis... Doesn't mean he IS the guy in the memories.. You know yourself, the doctors warned you about not taking time to process everything you remembered, especially when it comes back in large bursts like earlier today.. just calm down.. Chances are, it's a common injury. He is a wrestler, he does get hurt now and then...'_

He lie there, brow raised, almost tempted to roll over and look up at her. He'd been just about to do it when she started to oil down his back gently. He groaned, her hands started to glide slowly over his back, his hips and his shoulders. He'd almost drifted off to sleep when her voice cut through his 'thoughts' currently, his trying to figure out what the hell was up with her and she asked "That's one hell of a wicked scar you've got on your shoulder.."

"That? It's nothin.. You've seen it before." Dean answered as he rolled over, looked up at her and said quietly, "Vivi."

"My name's Alexis.." she said quietly as she looked at him confused. She bit her lower lip and then said with a light laugh, "You've gotta have me mixed up with someone else, Dean.. I'm flattered though. Hope you find this girl you're looking for." which further puzzled him. The look in those eyes of hers, he could tell she honestly believed what she was saying, that for some strange reason, she had no fucking clue who the hell he really was.

The thought both pissed him off and worried him, because all he could actually think of were the words her mother said to him after he'd finally gotten her to admit the truth.. That no matter what happened, when he did find her, she'd never be the girl he remembered.. What the fuck had the woman had done to her?

And how hard would it be to undo it?

They'd been staring into each other's eyes for about five minutes when Alexis said quietly, " It's weird though.. I mean I don't know you.. But it feels like I do..." while biting her lower lip. Dean nodded, keeping quiet. He wasn't sure what the hell to do now, or how the hell to find out what was wrong with her.. But he knew enough to know that something was definitely wrong.

Especially for her to act as if he were a total stranger and for all appearances, she seemed to actually **believe** that.

Alexis finished his massage and he slid his t shirt back down, stood and said quietly, "You do know me. You gotta remember me.." as he held her gaze intently. He didn't know what else to do, he wouldn't know what else to do until he figured out what the hell was going on with her, why she obviously had no clue who the hell he was and what he'd been to her, how much they'd 'loved' each other back then.

He left the salon and met up with the guys about a block away. When he slid into the booth they were all sitting at in some diner, Sami spoke up and said quietly, "Your girl man.. Think I figured out what's wrong.. "

"She don't fucking know me."

"Yeah, Ambrose, and there is a good reason for that too..." Roman said as Seth spoke up and then leaned in, whispered, "The neighbor on your right.. Said she's got something wrong with her head, like amnesia or something.. He's seen her leaving a therapist in the hospital a few times a month when he goes in for his usual checkup.. Said that when she first moved in, one of her parents came by and was talking to the landlord about it, trying to get the landlord to watch her or something."

"It figures that bitch would be involved in this somehow.. This guy... He say what happened to cause it?" Dean asked, bits and pieces of the way she'd acted earlier and just a little while ago when he'd shown up at her salon to get a massage starting to make sense.

Seth shrugged and then Roman spoke up and said "Whatever it is, man.. We've got your back.. We said we'd help, remember?" as Dean nodded, went back to sitting, letting what he'd just found out sink in.. Now that he knew what was wrong with her, he had to figure out how to handle things.

Because his way, the direct way, earlier, it hadn't worked.. And apparently, she was now living this whole other life, a different person just a little bit than she'd been when they'd been together..

He was going to have to start all over, apparently.. And the thought had his stomach churning..


	5. A Memory

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* * *

FOUR

It was late and she was exhausted. All she wanted to do, really, by the time she finished working out her frustrations at the fitness center about two blocks from the apartment complex she lived in was to go home, flop on her couch and just not move. Every part of her ached and she was still frustrated about what happened to her earlier. She hated it, the confusion, the not knowing whether her memories were memories or dreams.. It didn't help matters that now apparently, she'd be neighbors with the very man who was triggering the memories as of late whenever she'd see him on television and earlier today, she'd had the biggest chunk of the memories lost so far return to her out of the blue.

Now she was left with more questions, frustration and confusion than anything. Why'd he keep calling her Vivi? Why'd he insist that she'd seen that scar before? Why did she feel like she had seen it on him, before? Was it all a trick of her mind, or was it actually her memory finally returning after four long and equally frustrating years?

She took a few deep breaths and stubbed out her cigarette on the concrete in the parking garage of the apartment building. After she'd locked up her car, she leaned against it, just focusing on composing herself, even a little. _The sooner that doctor could see her later in the week_, she thought to herself,_ the better off she'd be, the more sense things would make._

The black Range Rover pulled in next to her car and she groaned inwardly when Dean Ambrose and his three friends got out, two of them carrying 12 packs of alcohol and the other guy, who also sort of looked familiar for some strange reason, carrying an arm load of pizza. She coughed a little and Dean fixed his gaze on her intently, held it a few moments, quietly.

"Poker night." Dean explained, and as soon as he said it, she had another 'memory' surface...

flashback

_'C'mon, Vivi, it's just gonna be me, Rob, Sami and a couple of the other guys. We're only gonna play a few hands of poker, talk some shit and unwind. All you gotta do, babe, is make cookies?" he said as he made begging eyes at her. She grumbled a little but when he started to kiss her neck, tickle her side and nuzzle his lips against the soft spot between her neck and shoulderblade, she groaned, sucked in a breath and said "What am I gettin out of this, Jon?" as she turned in his arms, looked up at him, naughty smile on her face as she bit her lower lip. She knew it drove him crazy, she knew he'd give in to whatever she wanted.. All she really wanted was this puppy she'd seen in a shelter down by the gym he worked out in all the time. Just a puppy.. They were a 'family' now.. First a dog, then maybe, just maybe, she'd get to have his kid at some point, once she'd gotten him used to the potential idea._

_She was completely, head over heels in love with her man, even when he raised a little too much hell, drove her insane with the things he did or made her so mad she was screaming and swearing at him in the little French Cajun she knew or the Italian she was learning. Even when they were fighting so much she thought it'd be done, they were over.. She loved him._

_And they were a family now, so yes, she wanted a dog._

_"What do ya want, Vivi?" he asked, wicked grin coming to his face as he licked her neck, made her squirm a little as his hand slid up her shirt.. "I bet I know one thing ya want.. We got time before the guys get here.." he mumbled as he picked her up, carried her down the hall to their bedroom, shutting the door behind him.._

_She wound up getting the dog the next day too._

end flashback

Dean coughed a little. She'd sort of gone off into this daze or something, given what he knew about her condition now, he was curious.. Was she remembering anything? Was his being here helping her maybe? He'd seen the smoldering glow in her eyes for a few moments there, both earlier in the hallway and now, as she stood there in the parking garage of the apartment complex. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. I.. I'm gonna go in. Pizza smells amazing." Alexis remarked as she bit her lower lip, wanting to bolt right now, her feet were frozen to the spot. This time, when she'd had the flashback or whatever the hell it was, she'd clearly seen this 'mystery man' of hers. It was him..

Did it mean something, she wondered to herself, or was it just her own physical attraction to Dean Ambrose making her think it was him, when in reality, it was some other guy who happened to look a little like him? Maybe that's what this whole thing was.. But why then, did everything about him feel so damn familiar to her.. Like earlier at the salon, when they were in the massage area.. And she was sitting on his hips, massaging his back.. It felt as if she'd done it literally a thousand times before.

She'd just gotten to the door that lead into the stairwell of the building when he called out, "Ya look like ya could eat, Alexis. Wanna come over? Just for a little while. I mean we're gonna be neighbors, no reason this has to be awkward as fuck." while shuffling his feet, playing with the zip on his half zip Unstable hoodie and looking at her, blue eyes sort of burning intently into her own..

Roman, Seth and Sami all exchanged a look. They'd all told him that most doctors, hell any doctor would tell you really, that with an amnesia victim, you had to be careful, not to feed them memories and stuff.. Thing about this was, they also knew just how much getting her back meant to Dean and just how impatient the jerk could be when he had his mind set on something. Seth nudged him and Sami said quietly, "Ya sure that's a good idea, Deano?"

"Shut it, Callahan. I'm not gonna just sit back and wait either, damn it." Dean hissed as he looked at Vivienne and asked, "Well? Wanna come over, Alexis?" even though he hated it, calling her that. Her name was Vivienne, damn it. Alexis sounded fake, phony and it felt wrong calling her anything but Vivi or legs..

Alexis thought about it and even as her mind kept telling her, _'Are you really sure you wanna do that, Alexis? Are you sure that's a good idea, given the past 8 and a half to 9 hours you've had thanks to the confusion this guy's just showing up, claiming you know him, maybe mistaking you for someone else has caused? Are you really sure you can resist him?' _she finally called out "Yeah. I'm gonna shower first. I just got outta the gym earlier." as he nodded, smirked to himself as he watched her walking into the building.

"Okay, Ambrose.. But you cannot feed her anything from her past.. It might mess her up worse or something. You do not want that." Seth said as Sami nodded in agreement and then added, "And no trying to just get her to fall into bed with ya either.. If ya gonna start over, man, at least do it right this time." as Roman asked, "Is t just me or did she seem like she might have actually remembered something just then when you said Poker night?"

Dean shrugged and said "Dunno.. Me and the guys used to do it all the time back then.. Maybe she did. I fuckin hope she did. I hate callin her Alexis. Sounds like some bimbo's fuckin name." as the group of males walked into the building.


	6. A Memory Pt 2

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* * *

FOUR - PT II

She knocked on the door, waited. Two times before he ever opened it, she almost chickened out, went back to her own apartment, back to her routine. Her routine was really the only thing she had that was stable, set in stone and over the past four years, she'd sort of been clinging to it like a lifeline. Just as she'd backed away from the door, turned like she was going to walk back into her own apartment, his door opened and Dean stood in the doorway, arms crossed, watching her with this amused look on his face. She scowled at him and asked, "What's so funny?"

"You are.. Pacing and shit out here. Relax, damn woman, ya act like I'm gonna eat ya alive or something." Dean joked, his words a little slurry. He figured that would piss her off more than anything, she'd never actually liked a lot of drinking before, but to his shock, she nodded at the beer bottle in his hand and asked, "You got anymore of those or do they only come as singles now days?" as he stepped to the side, let her step into the noisy and small apartment. "Excuse the mess.. Had a girl, she was real neat and shit, but she left.." Dean muttered as he held her gaze, leaned in a little so that their hips just barely brushed.

She stiffened a little, there was almost this electric current going through her body where it made contact with his. Her eyes were stuck in his, lost almost hopelessly, and all she could do was nod. She got this feeling though, that when he said what he did just now, it was supposed to make her feel a certain way.. Like maybe he was trying to tell her something without saying it. She shrugged and with a laugh said instead, "My place.. It's one hell of a lot messier. Don't see how, I mean I'm hardly ever home.. Got any cookies?"

"Nope."

"How the.. Who plays poker without cookies?" she asked as she looked at him. The look on his face when she talked about wanting cookies, how they were a vital part to playing poker, it was strange almost.. Like he was hurt or something. She kicked herself when for a split second, the memory she had from the parking garage came back and she wondered yet again if maybe there wasn't something to this, the guy being the biggest trigger for her memories lately.. Maybe she did know him?

"If you want some.. Ya gonna have to get 'em. None of us cook. Cookin, with the four of us, Alexis," Dean said quietly as he held her gaze and mentally thought to himself just how much he hated going along with this, how much he hated feeling like he was lying to her, hated calling her anything but Vivi or legs, "Is probably hazardous to people's health."

"I got some, I'll go.. I'll get the dough and make em." Alexis said quietly as she stared up into his eyes, feeling like she were almost in a trance or something, she seemed to feel that way a lot when she looked into his eyes, and bit her lower lip. "First though.. You gonna get me that beer?"

Dean coughed a little, he almost asked her since when the hell did she drink anything other than maybe half a glass of red wine here and there, but he remembered what the guys preached to him earlier, about how, for now, if he wanted to be in her life when her memory finally did come back, he had to play along with this 'new version' of her.

What the hell else was she doing differently, he wondered, jealousy flaring, he suddenly felt so left out of her life. He was angry and he wanted to go back to Ohio, strangle her mother, who caused them to be apart for so long.. But he reminded himself that would come in time.. Karma would get her, his only thing right now was trying to figure out how the hell to help his girl find herself again.

For once, it was a rare thing for him, honestly, he was thinking of more than just himself. This was.. It was hell.. And if he were being selfish and impatient, he'd only wind up making a huge mess of things. He really was trying this time, having friends like the ones he had, it helped a lot. Instead of losing it with her, asking a thousand different questions which he really wanted to, he nodded, walked to the refridgerator and asked, "Bud Light's alright.. Right?"

"It'll work. I'll bring my Fireball and some shot glasses over when I go grab the dough and stuff.. You're cool with me kinda using your stove to do this?" Alexis asked. Their bodies brushed against each other again and he pressed the beer into her hand, his hand curled around it a few moments as he shrugged and said with a laugh, "Not like I'm gonna be using the fuckin thing anytime soon, Alexis.."

"Okay then, so I'll be right back." she said as she opened her beer, took a long gulp out of the bottle and turned, walking out. Sami wandered into the kitchen and said with a smirk, "Tension, man.. I could feel the damn tension in the next room.. Where did she go, huh? You didn't snap on her, did ya?"

"No, damn it. She wanted cookies, told her we didn't have any, she was gonna have to make 'em or somethin. Since when the hell does she drink? And liquor at that?" Dean wondered as Sami chuckled and then said "Shes coming back though, right?"

"Yes, damn it, you three can stop fuckin worryin. I ain't lost it and blown things yet." Dean grumbled as Seth walked in, grabbed a beer and asked the same things Sami just had. He chuckled when Dean explained that apparently now, she was going to bake cookies, because apparently, she didn't' play poker without them. Roman spoke up from the doorway, "It went okay though, right?"

"Yeah.. I hope she remembers something soon, man, because I hate callin her Alexis. It ain't her god damn name." Dean grumbled as the door was knocked on again, Sami bolted to it, threw it open and called out, "Food and whiskey.. Christmas is early, man.. I kinda like you livin next door to this chick, Ambrose." which made Alexis laugh and shake her head then say aloud, "I haven't locked myself out yet at 2 am either.." as she walked into the kitchen, set to work baking the cookies.

Dean sat there, watched her quietly as he thought back to all the times in the not so distant past that she'd done this, how he'd tried to be an interrupting ass when she baked or cooked, and where it often resulted in the two of them winding up. This in turn made him drink at least twice as much beer twice as fast and he was just popping the top on the second one when she sat the shot of Fireball in front of him and smirked. "Take it."

"You first." Dean said as she picked up the shot glass, slammed the shot down, turned the glass upside down on the table and smirked as she shrugged. "It's not that big a deal." she muttered as Dean gaped at her a few moments then said with a shrug, "What the hell, right?"

"That's what you say now..." Alexis teased a little as she poured another shot, held it out. The look on his face as the whiskey not only set his mouth but his stomach and throat on fire on it's way down alone was enough to almost make her roll in laughter, but the pout he gave her.. She bit her lower lip, tried to fight the surge of emotions it made her feel.

"Ya did that shit on purpose."

"It ain't supposed to be cool, Mr. Ambrose.. it is called fire ball... Not ice cube." Alexis mused as she asked the rest of the guys present, "Anybody else? You, big guy.." which made Roman chuckle, shake his head and say "Nah, I'm gonna pass.. Thanks though.. Just don't think I wanna experience liquid fire.." as Alexis focused on Dean, who was watching her intently, pouting still.

He blinked when she leaned downward, fluffed his hair and skipped back over to the stove to check on the cookies she had inside baking. Before the amnesia.. That was kind of her thing.. He'd pout, she'd laugh, roll her eyes and fluff his hair. Her memory had to be coming back.

They settled in when the cookies finished baking, music playing in the background, dealing hands for poker. Halfway through the game, another memory hit Alexis like a bolt out of the blue and she froze a few moments, staring at Dean intently, this sort of intent look in her eyes, biting her lower lip as she sipped her beer quietly in thought. She snapped out of it just as it came back around to her, and she laid down her hand on the table, smirking as she said "Royal Flush" which got met with a chorus of groans.

"Oh come on, guys.. Not like I been winning all the games." Alexis teased as she reminded Dean, "You won the last one.. I still say you cheated."

"How the hell, woman, did I cheat?" he asked as he found himself leaning in a little, eyeing her lips. She was leaning in too, was she flirting with him a little? Another thing that wasn't quite like her.. She'd sort of been this timid girl before..

He'd liked it, but he was discovering that he liked this side of her too.

"Jedi Mind Trick, Dean." Alexis muttered quietly as she held his gaze and backed away a little, smirked as she raked in the chips on the table towards her and said aloud, "One more hand boys, then I have got to go to bed. A girl needs her beauty sleep.. Plus, I have this thing.. I jog at 5 every Friday morning.. No matter what." as Dean looked at her, brow raised..

The jogging thing was new also.. But it did give him anoher way to casually bump into her tomorrow morning.. He smirked and said aloud, "I think ya just afraid to stay in the game longer, afraid ya might wind up losin everything ya just won."

"Right, Ambrose."

"It's true, Vi- I mean Alexis." Dean covered quickly, noting that when he did almost call her by her name, she'd blinked for a moment, almost as if she'd remembered something else, possibly.. Maybe he was helping her memory come back..


	7. Talking And Running

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* * *

FIVE

She'd just finished stretching when she heard a throat clear, looked up to find Dean Ambrose standing over her, towel wrapped around his neck, sweats on. She raised a brow, but said casually, "So.. You jog too, huh?" as she stared at him intently, licked her lips slowly. He shook his head then said quietly, "Not always." as he thought to himself that it was entirely too damn early to even be awake, and on a weekend, at that. He didn't have anything to do tonight, normally, if he were on the road, he'd have to spend all day today in the gym, getting ready for the show that night, but this was his downtime..

"Oh." Alexis muttered as she sprang up from where she'd been sitting, doing stretches on the grass. She set the timer on her phone and slipped in her earbuds, thinking that even if he did want to jog, he wouldn't want to spend the entire time talking to her, and she took off ahead of him. He caught up to her, tapping her shoulder, she stopped for a second, looking at him as she raised her brow. "What's up?"

"Ya coulda waited, woman, damn."

"Oh, I'm.. I'm sorry, not used to having people with me on these things?" Alexis muttered, her eyes getting sucked into his, her tongue trailing slowly over her lower lip as she tried to break the hold his eyes had on her currently. She failed, of course, and finally, he coughed, asked her quietly, "Ya okay?" and she answered sheepishly, "Yeah, it's just.. It's weird, nevermind.. I usually make 2 laps around the block.. Sure you wanna do this? It's really, really fuckin cold out.." and continued to hold his gaze.

He smirked and said casually, "I think I can handle it." as he eyed her, wanting nothing more than to tell her everything, or even better, her memory come back on it's own so he wouldn't have to. He knew that when it did, things might be strange, considering everything that happened leading up to her amnesia.. Was she going to mourn all over again?

How the hell was he supposed to help her cope with a loss he'd never even gotten over fully back then.

The faint sounds of Nirvana drew him out of his thoughts and the two jogged silently for half a block. Then, just as they were turning a corner, getting ready to go the other half of the block, her phone rang and he watched her, tense, brow raised. Was it another man? The jealousy surged but he did his best to try and fight it back.

"Damn it, Christ.. She can't get me from her cell phone to mine, naturally, she's going to find a way to contact me." Alexis scowled as she held the phone away from her head, half listened to and half ignored what her mother was trying to say to her, what her mother was bitching about before finally hanging up and grumbling, "I'm a grown ass woman now, ma. Butt the fucking hell out of my life." as she shoved the phone into her pockets. She turned to find Dean propped against a lamp post, watching her and she explained sheepishly, "My ma.. She wasn't ever very good with cutting the cord? Doesn't help that she spends ninety percent of her time butting into my life instead of living her own. I tried blocking her cell number, damned if she doesn't call me from another one."

"Ahh."

"When you say it like that..." Alexis said as another memory hit her, this time, it wasn't a better one, it was of them, fighting.. Because of the very thing that was going on now. If Dean wasn't somehow connected to her past.. Then the guy who was.. Had her mother driven the guy away? She stared at the ring on her finger a few moments as she played with the zip on her Lulu Lemon jacket, tried to stay calm and still, let the memory run it's course so she could sort it out right then. It was pretty much the best way to handle these 'recurring memories' as of late.

Dean watched her, she was in some kind of quiet thoughtful trance. He waited a few minutes then asked, "Ready?" as he mocked a shiver. She looked up at him and nodded, stared at him a few moments like there was something she wanted to say or ask him, but instead, she said quietly at last, "Yeah. It is getting fucking colder by the minute."

"It is.. Hey, when we're done runnin.. You could eat, right? I found this place, earlier.." Dean said as he held her gaze, waited on an answer. She nodded and said with a quiet smile, "Yeah.. I'd like that.. I mean it'll save me from having to stop or something before I go to this damn doctors appointment.." as she twiddled her thumbs, stared at him.

The tension between them, as usual, was almost thick enough to cut with a knife. She had the passing thought to herself wondering if he noticed it or not, and she filed it away for later, maybe to ask him when they got to know each other better, if they actually got to.

If something didn't come between them and that happening, like say her meddling and very annoying, smothering mother.

"Doctor?" Dean asked, pretending he didn't know what she was talking about, just to see how much she'd tell him. He hated doing things this way, but for now, it was pretty much his only choice.

"Yeah.. I gotta go in, see this therapist and my specialist.. About four years ago, I was in a car accident.. Apparently, it almost killed me. Got amnesia, actually." Alexis admitted quietly, as she held his gaze and thought to herself, _'But lately, since that night I happened to flip past Monday Night Raw, Mr. Ambrose, for whatever reason, I seem to remember more and more each day that passes.. Ironically, it's about you.. But hey, that's not crazy, right?' _but of course, she kept quiet.

The guy seemed cool, she was attracted to him and she did want to get to know him better, see why she seemed to remember more around him and if she told him everything, well.. He'd probably run for the hills. Her amnesia made having a social life damn near impossible, it seemed like.

"Wow.. And ya can't remember a damn thing or?" Dean asked, though he knew he shouldn't, technically, that was goading her or pushing her and his friends all told him that was a very, very bad idea.. But he was curious, he hadn't ever really been a truly patient guy.. And he wanted their life back, together. That was his whole intent in finding her, finding out what happened to her, in the first place.

"I can actually.. It's just bits and pieces, it's all frustrating as hell, really.. I mean nothing's complete, it doesn't make any sort of sense.. Wanna hear the ironic thing?" she asked, taking a few deep breaths.. For some reason, she just had this feeling that she could pretty much tell him anything. That he'd want to know or something, if the memories were being triggered by him.. At least then she could rule out the possibility of her ever having met him before now or before seeing him on television on Mondays and Fridays, right?

"Yeah." Dean said finally as she stopped jogging, turned to look at him and admitted, "You kinda triggered a lot of em.. The stuff I've remembered so far.. I'm totally not trying to creep you out, it's just... When I saw you.. I mean on tv.." while shuffling her feet, looking down.. All shades of the girl she was before the damn amnesia. He tried not to react in any certain way, and he stood there for about five minutes at least, trying to figure out just how the hell to react, what the hell he needed to say or do.. Finally, he said with a shrug, " Like what's that even mean?"

"Well.. There's the stuff I dream about at night... And the few bigger things I've remembered over the past few days.. When I said that I didn't know you before, actually.. I'm not entirely sure that's true anymore.." Alexis admitted carefully, finally looking up at him. Honestly, she expected him to be ready to find a cop or something, tell them he had a stalker or something, but instead, he looked.. Relieved or something.

"This doctor.. They say how long it might last?" Dean asked as Alexis sighed and said quietly, "Said it could all come back overnight, or it could last until I die.. That with retrograde amnesia and my injury, there's just no way to tell. And god do I hate it too.. I just.. I feel like something's missing and it's huge and I.. I'm actually more alone than I've ever been in my whole life?"

"Ya not." Dean insisted as he stopped them jogging and looked at her, debated carefully for a few moments. He knew everything, he could easily tell her things.. But she had to remember on her own. He had to struggle, really, to keep from just taking her back up to his apartment, telling her everything she'd forgotten, showing her if he had to, just how much she really was missing, how much she was missed. Something he probably should've done back then, but..

It wasn't too late. She still wore the ring, she admitted to feeling something for him, though she was confused as to what it might be..

And Sami's words stuck in his mind like a badly skipping record _'If ya want her back man, do it right this time. Ya gotta let that damn guard down sometime, man. Or she's never gonna stay.. And even if she does, ya gonna have all the same damn problems ya had back then.' _

"I don't think ya crazy, either, if that's what's got ya so quiet right now." he admitted finally, his voice calm and firm, sort of commanding, so she'd actually look up at him and not down at the bright pink and green Nikes she was wearing.

"I.. I wouldn't blame you, Dean, if you did. It is all a little much." Alexis said quietly as she looked at him a few moments finally, then shivering asked, "So.. We can call an early run and go find food.. I mean if you still wanna?" as he chuckled and looked at her, nodded and added, "Figured you were gettin cold." as she poked out her tongue.

The way his hand found the small of her back when they walked through the doors of the cafe felt familiar, it felt like it'd been done a thousand times before now, and she couldn't help but wonder.. Did she dare hope that the memories she was having lately were not false? Even the bad ones, because they honestly were not that bad.

Her phone rang in her pocket and she let it go to voicemail, focusing instead, on talking to Dean. She was really, really shocked when she finally did get a glimpse of the time, it was almost 8 am. "We should probably get back.. You've probably got stuff to do and I got work and that doctor thing." Alexis said reluctantly. To her shock, Dean asked "What time you got lunch?"

"1 today, why?" Alexis asked as he shrugged mysteriously and disappeared inside of the apartment complex they both lived in.. She stared after him a few moments, wondering what the hell he was up to. For the first time in a long time, she was excited, her heart was actually r acing a little and she wasn't entirely dreading the day ahead of her.


	8. A Lunch Date

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* * *

SIX

The bell above the salon's entrance jingled and Dean slipped in amongst a crowd of talking and loud women. He snickered as he heard some of the jokes that the women were telling as he mused to himself "And they say men got dirty minds." and shook his head. What surprised him, however, was that Vivienne, his girl, was right in the middle of it, and at least one of the stories she was telling was probably dirtier than he'd ever have associated with her before the amnesia. He leaned against one of the column things in the middle of the waiting area, just watching her. Had she really been like this then and just not shown it? This part of her intrigued him because he didn't know it, it wasn't familiar to him. It turned him on, she kept him guessing now. Before, he'd been the more unpredictable of the two. He coughed to let her know he was there, and she looked up.

The laughing died down a little and he joked, "Talkin about me, huh?" as Alexis shrugged, gave him a mysterious wink and called out to her friend and co owner of the salon Ramona, "Mona.. Takin my lunch."

"I told ya, girl, he was gonna show." Ramona said with a smirk as she waved Alexis out the door, Alexis shrugging into a leather jacket and grabbing cigarettes and a lighter on her way out. She lit up as soon as they were out the door and Dean gaped at her a few moments. "When the hell.." he started to say, but fell silent. _Maybe if he had amnesia and couldn't remember jack about his life for about a four year stretch_, he reasoned with himself, _he'd pick up a vice or three too_.

"You want a light too?" she offered, holding the pack out to him as he shook his head. He wasn't entirely sure how to take a lot of this 'new Vivienne', but he was trying, damn it. Even though what he wanted more than anything right now, was for her to somehow magically remember, at least their life together. He hated not being able to tell her, show her what he'd had to learn the hard way during all this that he felt. "I'll take one." he muttered as he took a cigarette, looked at it and looked at her and asked, "Pink filter, seriously?"

"Pink's my color, J..Dean, I meant Dean." Alexis said quickly as she realized what she'd almost done just now. Her therapist seemed almost totally convinced that maybe she did know Dean, after she'd shown the guy her very detailed 'memory book' that she'd started putting together as her memory returned, he'd suggested hypnosis again but cautioned that she'd have to do it gradually.

And while she'd been sitting in the waiting room, she'd had yet another memory that almost completely convinced her that Dean was the guy she was remembering, somehow, in their past, he'd meant a lot to her, she might have even loved the guy. But she was still wary too, because there was everything her mother said about the 'man' who'd been in her life and supposedly left her when she needed him most.. If the guy were Dean, where the hell had he been in all this? She was curious, she wanted to ask, but she didn't dare ask him.

There was more to this whole thing, she could feel it. She wanted to remember it on her own without asking her mother, or Dean, or anyone else she may or may not have remembered..

Dean's ears perked when she almost called him by his real name. He looked at her and asked, "What were you gonna call me? Just now?" in curiousity. Alexis shook her head and said quietly, "It's.. It's nothing.. I had a weird yet productive day at the doctors office.. I told him what I told you earlier and he kinda thinks that maybe I did know you.. But he warned me about forcing anything.. Said if it was coming this fast, maybe I'd get it all back sooner than I think." as she bit her lower lip. They walked into a more private cafe, he waved to a maitre d and moments later they were in the back booth, one candle lit and one long stemmed red rose in a clear vase on the table.

She shifted her eyes to him and raised a brow, giggled a little and held up her wine glass, asked teasingly, "Trying to get me drunk, huh, Mr. Big shot?" as she sipped the wine poured into the glass as he laughed and then shaking his head he said quietly, "Ya doctor's right.. About me.. Ya did know me." as he stared at her intently. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her everything, instead, he shotgunned the alcohol sitting in front of him and focused on just listening for a while.

He hadn't really done that much before, and when he lost her, it was one thing the man regretted deep down but he'd die before admitting it.

She turned beet red and he burst into laughter when her phone began to ring and it was the theme song he walked down to the ring to. He raised a brow, she shrugged and said casually, "What? I like it, okay? It kinda fits you." as he shrugged and giving a cocky smirk admitted, "It kinda does." as he got caught in her eyes again for a few moments.

"So.. This is your idea of lunch huh, Mr. Big Shot? Hope you know, it's gonna take one hell of a lot more if you wanna get me in bed or something." Alexis teased, winking at him as he laughed a little after gaping at her a second. She took a bite of her food, surprised when he'd actually guessed what she usually ate at a place like this, correctly, almost down to the letter and groaned as she mused aloud, "The food was nothin like this when I was staying in Ohio with my mother." as he nodded.

He was half tempted, of course, to tell her exactly what he thought of her mother, but he kept quiet for now.. When it all came back, he got the feeling she'd probably be in agreement with him.. Things were starting to fall into place for him, he'd somewhat assembled a timeline as to what happened and when, and there was nothing he wanted more than to kill the woman if everything he suspected were actually true. If it were, she'd done something sicker than he'd ever have dreamt of doing himself.

"I hated it, by the way. Stayin around her. She's so fucking pushy. Butts into every damn thing. I couldn't even breathe the entire time I was staying there after the accident." Alexis said as Dean choked a moment, looked at her. Normally, she was all for defending the woman, on the grounds that 'she's my mom, kinda have to love her', which he understood but didn't totally agree with.

"What's that look for?" Alexis asked, watching him intently. Again, she got the strong feeling that he wanted to tell her something huge, but he was holding back from doing it, trying to let her remember or whatever on her own. Dean shrugged, dug into his food quietly. If he'd opened his mouth just then, he'd have poured it all out and she'd already had one hell of a day apparently.

He didn't want to be the reason she suffered a setback.

For once, he was thinking of more than just him. It was damn hard, being this patient, but he was doing his best.

"So.. A guy like you doesn't have a girl, huh? I kinda find that hard to believe.." Alexis mused aloud, looking at him. For some unknown reason, when she thought of him with another girl, jealousy flooded her. When he laughed and pointed to himself shaking his head, she felt relief. Probably the most relief she'd felt in a while.

"What about you? Bettin you got a thousand dates." Dean flirted as she laughed and shook her head then answered, "No, I just.. It's weird but.. I prefer my memories every night to disappointments, ya know? I mean I know now that if they were memories, no matter how bad we had it, it wasn't tragic or anything. I took a lot of shit for granted before.. I just.. I wish I wasn't confused, that I could remember and fill this damn hole in my life.. " as she eyed him intently.

He looked at her and nodded quietly, said in a calm voice, " I get it.. I mean I feel that way too.. There's fightin and stuff but.. It's just not the same.. Got nothin waitin on me when I come off the road. I know all about holes.. You gotta give yourself time though, don't push so damn hard, woman.. The harder you push, the longer it's gonna take to remember anything." as he thought to himself, _'She's gotta be remembering something about us.. The look in her eyes.. Some of the stuff she says.. Maybe things won't be totally fucked this time around..' _and ate his food.

They'd both finished eating and Alexis said spontaneously as they stood outside of the salon, "Hey.. If you want.. Kind of going to watch some movies I got from Red Box later."

"Yeah.. Beer, right?"

"Yeah, that'd be awesome.. I'm cookin too.. Come hungry, Mr. Big Shot." Alexis said with a wink as she skipped back into the salon. Dean punched the air in victory about halfway up the block and sent a text to his friends to let them know how things were going so far, let them know that no, he hadn't lost his shit and blown his second chance to do everything over and do it right this time..

Then he went into his apartment and flopped onto the couch, going back over everything she'd vaguely hinted at. He smirked to himself. Her memory had to be coming back, it had to be. She'd said way too much when they were out at lunch for it not to be returning. Now he just had to figure out how the hell both of them were going to have to cope with some of the bad that was inevitably going to come up..


End file.
